Remember when you had to wait for a specific show to come on TV?

Back in the 90s, I'd rush home from school to catch the 4:30 PM slot for my favorite cartoon, like 'Gargoyles'. If I missed it, that was it until a rerun. Now, my kid just asks our streaming box for any episode, any time. The change really hit me last Tuesday when she watched six episodes in a row. Does anyone else feel a bit weird about how we never have to wait for anything anymore?

3 comments

3 Comments

averywright13d ago

My family started a Friday movie night to bring back that old-school weekly anticipation.

the_thea12d ago

I used to think the whole "waiting makes it special" thing was just nostalgia. But sandrashah's point about kids learning patience from entertainment really got me. We do movie night too, and seeing my nephew actually look forward to Friday all week kind of proved it. It's a small thing, but it does feel like it builds a different kind of excitement than just clicking play.

sandrashah12d ago

Yeah, that waiting was a pain but it made the show feel special. I get what you mean about it feeling weird now, but I don't miss planning my whole day around a TV schedule. What @averywright is doing sounds like a good middle ground, making your own weekly event. My worry is that having everything right now makes it harder for kids to learn patience for things you actually do have to wait for in real life. How do you teach that when entertainment doesn't require it anymore?